Shoulders on Saturday Afternoon
by GalaxieGurl
Summary: A Saturday afternoon at Booth and Brennan's house brings back memories for Parker. I must add, in response to a reviewer's question, that I borrowed Zach from Razztaztic's 'Roots and Wings' series. It's one of my favorite stories to go back and read for fun!


Author's Remark: After many hours of enthralled reading here, I decided to try making a contribution. I know there's too many mentions of shoulders in here, but this is a Parker moment that popped into my head. I've never written a Fan Fiction piece before, so don't throw the rake at me, please. For the purposes of this story, Parker is 16, Christine is 7 and Zach is 3.

I've added a minor clarification due to a review which pointed out a potential misunderstanding regarding Parker's age in this fic...

**Shoulders on a Saturday Afternoon**

A memory...

"Throw it again, Daddy!" 6-year old Parker yelled over his shoulder at Booth as he ran forward anticipating another pass from his dad. Pulling his arm back, Booth threw the football in a perfect arc whose trajectory sent the ball straight into Parker's excited grasp. His son's catching ability had improved a lot over the last two years, but a careful aim was still an important, if silent, part of encouraging Parker's successes. He ran forward, bent and tackled the boy, rolling both of them over and over across the dry grass…. The warm afternoon sunshine, glittering autumn leaves overhead and Saturdays spent running around the park were a highlight of Parker's weekends with Booth…...

~b~b~b~b~b~

Present day...

"Pawka, Pawka, throw me the ball!" the little boy shouted. ..…Zach's delighted cry shook Parker out of his reverie, and he picked up the oversized foam-padded Nerf football off the lawn and gently tossed it back to his dark-headed little brother. It was another crisp sunny afternoon in October.

"You two never help with the chores as much as I do! You're both always goofing off," complained Christine as she dumped an armload of dry leaves into the huge black trash bag. Booth leaned on his rake a moment and grinned at the boys' noisy game.

Up on the wide front porch, Brennan looked up from the pansies she was planting and smiled back at him. "Chrissy, come in the house with me, honey. The timer's ringing to take our macaroni and cheese out of the oven," she called to their irritated daughter. "Parker, please help your dad finish the raking. Zach, why don't you see how many leaves you can get into the bag for Daddy. It's nearly dinnertime, Booth." She put her arm around Christine's shoulders as they walked into the house.

"Got it, Bones!" "Come on, you two, let's get this job wrapped up. I smelled Bones' snicker doodles baking in the kitchen earlier this afternoon. No cookies for lazybones or slackers!" Booth said to his sons. Parker picked up a rake. "Okay, Dad. I hope Christine doesn't mess up Bones' mac and cheese recipe." "I heard that, you turkey!" Christine retorted through the screen door on her way to set the table. Zach happily tossed handfuls of leaves into the air, jumping around as they fluttered down around him.

Booth and Parker spent another half-hour raking and scooping the piles of colorful leaves before they tied the last bulging trash bag shut. "I love seeing you play with Zach like we used to," Booth remarked quietly to the tall blond teenager. "I know, Dad, that's one of my best memories. " He placed his arm around Parker's shoulder and tightened it into a hug. "Set those bags out for the trash tomorrow, will you, son?" Booth asked as he swung Zach up on his shoulder and strode into the house.

"Sure thing, Dad." As Parker dragged the sixth and final bag to the curb, he couldn't believe how much things had changed as he'd grown up. His dad and Bones were married, and he now had two entertaining younger siblings. Ever since Rebecca and Drew had married; his parents' interactions had become placid and cordial.

"I'm really a lucky guy," he thought to himself. "I've got a great family, and the one thing that never changes is that Mom and Dad both love me. They're both a lot happier now than they were when I was little, and Bones isn't going anywhere. She and Dad are stuck like glue forever.


End file.
